This past Sunday we took Julia-Rose to church for the first time and had so much fun showing her off. After church we spent the afternoon at my parents house and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.

I can't believe she's mine!

Proud Grandparents just after she was born

This first week has gone by too fast! I honestly didn't even think I would like this stage. Before I had her I wanted to skip ahead several weeks because I thought having a newborn would be so exhausting and difficult. However, I have been blessed with a very easy baby (so far!), and even when I am up in the middle of the night feeding and changing her I cherish every moment. A few nights ago I wanted Shawn to try to get some good sleep in since he is the one working right now, so I told him he didn't need to get up at all. She and I were up together that particular night for about 2 hours in a row. She just wasn't tired! It was one of the rare moments when her eyes were actually open and I could enjoy what little bit of her personality that is already starting to come out. I used to crave 8+hours of sleep a night, but somehow God prepares your body for this time and I haven't even been tired. We laid on the floor together and I just watched her for a good 2 hours and was never tired or frustrated at all. I also love watching her sleep. I put her down in her bed and can just stand there and watch her sleep and never think about the time. Last night it brought tears to my eyes looking at her thinking what a gift she is. I have thanked God for entrusting me with her countless times now. It humbles me to think that He has allowed me to be her mother.

We have had a great first week at home. She is sleeping 3+ consecutive hours through the night between feedings, which I feel is pretty good. I have had so much help that I haven't had to do very much work at all. My mom has spent most of the week with me and she has cleaned, stocked our kitchen with groceries, and meals to last a week. Our church is also bringing meals for the next week, so we have more food than we can eat right now. It is such a nice break not having to worry about cooking! Next week I will be on my own but things are going so well that I don't feel like I need help anymore, and I am actually looking forward to resuming some normalcy. This has been such a special time bonding with my new baby though and for my mom and I to spend together that I will miss having my mom around next week. I greatly appreciate all the help and encouragement she has given me.

This morning we did have our first little scare. She woke up around 4:30 sneezing (which I know is normal for a newborn), but she was also producing quite a bit of mucous that we thought looked strange. We laid her in our bed and monitored her breathing for over 2 hours to make sure she was breathing okay. We are a bit paranoid at this stage in the game! I called the doctor as soon as they opened and was told that everything should be normal as long as her temperature was normal. So my mom brought over a couple of her thermometers to use because I didn't think mine was the proper kind. Well we had trouble reading her's too, so I ended up calling a neighbor over for a bit of reassurance who also has a newborn, and then my mom had to run to the drugstore and buy a brand new thermometer. About an hour and a half later we finally were able to check her temperature, which was perfectly normal, and my anxiety was put to rest. You just grow to love them so quickly and it scares me so to think of her being sick or of something happening to her. I have truly tried to commit her to the Lord, but I still worry. I know that she is His first and that He will protect her. I have to constantly remind myself of that.

These two photos are of us right before I delivered Julia-Rose, and when I was handed her for the first time. I was so blessed with a very easy labor and delivery. My contractions started on Friday evening, went throughout the day on Saturday, and I delivered her early Saturday evening. When we arrived at the hospital I wasn't even *sure* if I was in labor. Shawn dropped me off at the emergency entrance and I didn't even take my bags in because I told him I wasn't certain if I was in labor. It turns out that I was already dilated to 9cm, my water had broken, and I was ready to push upon admittance! I couldn't have asked for an easier labor. For weeks before my labor I had a lot of anxiety over labor and prayed asking God to give me the grace to get through it and He certainly did.

Little Julia-Rose arrived almost three weeks early on October 20. God was so gracious and gave me a very easy labor. I kept thinking "is this it?!" I am having so much fun getting to know her and am loving being a mother even more than I imagined I would.

The nursery is finally ready! I truly feel blessed as we really haven't had to buy a thing for the nursery. Everything has been given to us except the bed, which we bought used for $40. I wanted to keep it pretty simple; all white with accents of pink and sage. I have several sentimental items in there that have been passed down to me from others, or that belonged to me when I was a little girl. I love spending time in there looking at all her things that are waiting to be used and turning on her mobile and just listening to the music.

The Dooley girls

This past weekend my cousin Lindsay and aunt Susan hosted a baby shower for me. It was a most special day for me to spend with friends and family. They put so much time and effort into making the day special for me and it was even more wonderful than I imagined it would be. I was overwhelmed when I walked into the shower. The had baby clothes on a clothes line going the length of of the staircase in my parents house, as well as other items throughout the house. I could tell they had been planning for months and tried so hard to make it nice. It was so nice to see friends I hadn't seen in a good while, and I appreciate everyone helping me to get ready for the baby. I now have everything I need and feel so relaxed and am just awaiting her arrival!

My aunt Susan said a special prayer for Julia-Rose to open the shower. She prayed specifically for her salavation at an early age. I appreciated this so much as my prayer for her each day is that her desire will be to honor and serve the Lord. I pray that the Lord will equip Shawn and me with the tools to teach her about Him and to desire Him in her life.

In addition to receiving all the baby necessities and clothing I needed, I was also given a special gift from my grandfather in honor of my grandmother who passed away in June. My grandmother collected silhouettes and I have always really liked them. She asked me before she passed away if there was anything in her home I would like to have and I mentioned the silhouettes. That is what my grandfather gave me. The one he gave me is of a husband and a wife with a baby in a carriage between them. It is one of my most cherished gifts!

Lindsay displaying the Krispy Kreme "cake" she made for me. I have taken a liking to Krispy Kremes throughout my pregnancy :)

All the delicous food! We had breakfast casseroles, fruit and doughnuts.

Here I am at 37 weeks pregnant, Amanda in the middle is 13 weeks, and Jessica is 28 weeks. How neat to be pregnant together! Jessica has been such an encouragement to me the past several months and I have been so blessed to share pregnancy with her. We have so much fun talking on the phone sharing stories about our stresses and changes we are experiencing, as well as the occasional joys of being pregnant. I say occasional, because although we have both been blessed with healthy pregnancies, we can't say it has been the most celebrated time in our lives! We are getting through it together!

Here is a photo of several of my friends from high school who were able to come to the shower. I am so grateful for their friendship and am thankful that we are still so close after 7 years!

I have so many more photos of the day I could post, but I'm still not very good with formatting pictures on here. It was such a special day that I will think about for a long time. Everything was perfect - it was a beautiful fall day, the food and decorations were wonderful, and it was such a blessing getting to spend time with friends and family who all mean so much to me.

I haven't quite figured out how to format photos into one post, so for now I'll just have to make several different posts to include all the photos. Many of you have asked, so here are updated photos of me at 35 weeks pregnant! 5 more (hopefully less :) to go!!

Sunday is Family Day in our family, so after church we usually have lunch with my parents and spend the afternoon doing some outdoor activity. This past Sunday Shawn and my dad went riding. My activities are a little limited right now, so I just went along and took some photos of the afternoon.

Sadie loves visiting their house and being country dog for the day. She has to elevate herself to see what she can see. Silly girl!

This past weekend our church hosted a baby shower for me. It was such a special time to spend with the ladies from our church who have become so dear to me over the past couple of years. They have all been such an encouragement to me during my pregnancy. Through the months I have gotten cards, phone calls, emails, and each week at church always have several women wanting to know how the pregnancy is going and how I am feeling. During the first trimester when I was so ill, I would occasionally miss church and I could always count on someone calling me that Sunday afternoon to check in, or I could expect to get a card or two during the week. They are all so excited about our baby and being a part of her life. We are so blessed to be a part of this church and I can see God's hand in leading us to minister there and be a part of the church. One thing several of the women did towards the end of the shower was to go around the room and share any advice on being a mother that they had. The main thing I learned is just to treasure each day with your children, even the difficult days, because they are gone so quickly. I already have a bit of anxiety over the first several weeks of her arrival (sleepless nights, getting her on a schedule, etc.), but I have realized that I really need to learn to appreciate those opportunities of spending time with her during the night, and those long days at home with her, because soon she will go off to school, I will go back to work full time, and I will miss those days. I am learning to relax and look forward to the time I have to spend with her.

The photo at the top was taken when I got home. I forgot to take a picture of all the gifts at the shower, so I stacked them up in front of Julia-Rose's crib when I got home and took a photo.